Neon lights are formed into desirable shapes that can draw a person's attention to certain items. Neon lights are popular at stores, restaurants and other commercial establishments. Neon lights, however, are fragile, require high voltage and require skilled artisans to form and bend the light into letters. Also, neon lights can not typically be serviced on site.
LED light assemblies have been used to simulate neon lights. These known LED light assemblies include the following devices: an extruded plastic tube and a rigid printed circuit board (“PCB”) disposed in the plastic tube, a solid light emitting rod having a light engine cooperating with the light emitting rod, and a rope light.
The extruded plastic tube device is typically used for border illumination. LEDs mount onto the rigid PCB and the PCB is inserted into the plastic tube. The extruded plastic tube device does not provide 360 degree light output, thus not simulating the 360 degree output of a neon light. Also, the extruded plastic tube device is formed into desired shapes in a factory and cannot be formed into other shapes in the field.
For the device that includes the light emitting rod having a light engine cooperating with it, the LED light source is inserted into a hollow housing that attaches to the light emitting rod. The LED light source is then encased in an epoxy that hardens after it has set. Since the LED light source is typically encased in a polymer that hardens after it has set, no adjustments can be made to the assembly after the polymer has set. The light emitting rod and the accompanying housing in these known assemblies must be formed into its desired shaped prior to inserting the LED light source. The formation process is typically done at the manufacturer's location, e.g. a factory, away from the location where the neon simulating device will be made, e.g. a sign installer's or sign maker's location. Accordingly, once the LED device is delivered to its final destination, minimal adjustments can be made to the device. Furthermore, the device is not serviceable after it has been installed.
The rope light typically includes a very flexible housing having LEDs disposed in the housing. Since the housing is so flexible, the device must be placed in a rigid channel so that it maintains its desired shape, for example the shape of a letter.